The Fallen and the Broken
by TheDragonLover
Summary: In the world we live in today, tragic things happen to people whose lives are a perverted twist of the reality; who see the world and the people in it for what they truly are, the despicable black-hearted and the angelic pure souls alike. Swearing, etc.
1. Face Down

A/N: Before I start this story, I want to take the time to explain myself, the origins of this story, and my reasons for making it. Please do not be offended by anything I say, for it is my opinion and should not matter to you unless you make it matter. I do not target people and try to bring them down, I do not use any racial slurs with malice, and I do not intend to hurt anyone with my words. I aim to try to alert people and open their eyes to the messed up things in this world. Now that we have that settled, I shall start explaining.

In the world we live in today, tragic things happen to people whose lives are a perverted twist of the reality; who see the world and the people in it for what they truly are, the despicable black-hearted and the angelic pure souls alike. Unfortunately, the latter is few and far in between the crowds of populations around the world. Instead, we substitute them with people who have the lesser amounts of black in their hearts, the gray areas, the ones who aren't clouded as much with the evil shadows in the street. I would like to try to explain to you, through this story, just what the world is really like. I will try, with what little taste of it I have had, to send that message through to you.

If you don't like sad, tragic stories, then you probably shouldn't read this.

This came one day, as I sat in my Law Comprehension class (damn class! I want to get out of it!) and read through the later sections in the textbook while I was supposed to be doing classwork. (Don't ask about my grade now) I do this a lot, because I can't help but be curious, and since I read faster than most I can go ahead of everyone else in reading. So, I was looking through it, and I read about rape and other such heinous crimes. I started to wonder how it would be like, to be a victim of such a…despicable act, to have to wear that burden on your shoulders every day of your life. So, I got to work on exploring that concept.

Now, you shall see the result of such brainstorming. In these pages (or webpages, if you will), you will find what I have come up with on the idea of someone's experience with something like this. It may not be the best, it may not be the most detailed, and it may horrify you or make you sick to the bottom of your stomach. But, it's supposed to be that way; this is a raw piece of the real world from _my_ eyes trapped in my fingers, which transferred into the keyboard and onto this Word Document.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as you _can _enjoy a tear-jerker.

The bits of lyrics I put in the beginning of these things have something to do with the chapter, so think of it as a mini-spoiler for what's to come.

**Key: **'blank' thinking

"blank" talking

_italics_ First POV, diary entry, lyrics, book, etc. (a bunch of things)

**bold** time-skip

(blank) special change of scene or POV

_The Fallen and the Broken_

'_Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?_

_Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?'_

_**The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 'Face Down'**_

(_start broken angel_)

_The pain…_

_It hurts…so bad…_

_I could feel the blood dripping down…down…off of the bed and pooling onto the floor…_

_I knew I was injured. I knew that was the source of the bleeding. My legs, arm, sides protested against my nerves…_

_But that wasn't what hurt, so, so much._

_Above my waist, where my chest heaved, wet with salty tears, was the pain._

_I could feel it._

_A sharp pang of cold that didn't penetrate the skin; hidden deep in my untouched flesh – that was where the hurt lay. My heart was broken, but it didn't cry tears of blood like any other wound._

_This was a wound not of the flesh, but of my mind, and my soul._

(_tender_)

With a sigh, the red fox walked dreamily out of his room in the hotel. He had had quite a good day; not only did he get the chance to flirt with the maid that came in to clean his room, but he got to watch a swimming team doing their laps in the pool on the first floor. He had gotten a glass or two of Captains (you know, an alcoholic Coca-Cola mix) and relaxed in his suite for a while before deciding to get himself something to eat. All in all, he had a _lot _of fun.

He stuck a piece of gum in his mouth as he began to walk down the hallway, thinking to himself what it would take to get a date from one of the swimmers, before he noticed something different. The door across from his was left open a crack, enough that the door wasn't able to close and lock. Anyone could just waltz in there and say 'hello' or do something else to whoever was in there.

'Wait a minute…' He frowned as he chewed thoughtfully on the gum. That door wasn't _supposed _to be open; that was the room that his cousin and his cousin's girlfriend were staying in. And his cousin always hated it when someone left his door open. So…that meant his cousin wasn't in there. But, then why was it open? Maybe his girlfriend was in there. But why would _she _leave it open? Maybe it was hot. But, there's air-conditioning, right? In the end, there was no logical reason. So, he decided to investigate.

In case his feline cousin _was _in there, he quietly crept over to the door and listened. He did not hear Dawn's music playing, so he definitely wasn't inside. Sighing, he opened the door all the way to see what was going on.

He nearly choked on his gum.

It all seemed to be played in slow motion. Blood pooled on the ground like puddles of rain as it dripped from the red-soaked blanket of once snow white. It was like looking at the scene of the crime of a homicide; a leg that had been snapped off of one of the chairs lay forgotten on the floor, with the blood of its victim splattered all over its tarnished wood. The sheets seemed to try to constrict around the trembling form of a black feline, who raised her head slightly to stare at the cousin of her boyfriend. Her face was tear-stained with streams of salty-water mixing with the blood on the cuts of her face, which ought to have smarted badly. The blanket badly covered her naked body, showing a gash on her shoulder that looked rather deep and several other minor cuts around her neck.

Time finally returned to its regular pace when the wounded feline fell unconscious and toppled over.

Snapping out of the stupor that seemed to last for centuries, his eyes widened and he shouted in panic, "Shadowpaw!"

(_and the fallen_)

The nurse at the desk sighed and glanced over at the red fox sitting in the waiting room, watching irritably as the fox tapped his fingers on the glass table beside him while he read a magazine from the table. The way he sat there, though, told anyone who looked hard enough that he wasn't really focused on the words in front of him; he was troubled by the bloody feline he had carried to the hospital in his arms with only the red-stained blanket to cover her. He had made quite the picture, really, running down the street and shouting for people to 'get the bloody hell out of his way'.

When his tapping didn't stop, the nurse sighed again and said, "Sir? Can you please stop that?"

The red fox looked up for a moment, his red eyes clouded with thought, before he looked back down, ignoring the request. The nurse scoffed and grumbled under her breath, before a ringing sound interrupted her as she picked up the phone. She talked for a moment, agreed to 'send him in', and hung up to look back at the impatient fox. She rolled her eyes when she noticed him 'looking' through the Victoria's Secrets magazine, but she asked him, "Are you Sly?"

He looked at her again and gave a curt nod, and she told him, "You may go in to see her." She pointed down the hallway, instructing, "She'll be on the fourth to the right, room 307."

He thanked her and went off at a brisk pace, careful not to run but too agitated and worried to walk calmly. He dodged oncoming waves of doctors and nurses and patients before slipping into his destination and quietly closing the door behind him before turning to look at the feline. His eyes softened with pity and worry as he looked her up and down, seeing the bandages under the hospital dress that almost completely covered her usually lithe form. Now, she looked so abused, so lifeless, so…broken. A moment of anger overtook his eyes before they hardened with determination. Whoever had done this to Shadowpaw, who he had welcomed and considered as part of the family, was going to pay _dearly_.

He carefully walked over to the bed and took the chair that sat right beside it. He crossed his arms over his maroon chest and cleared his throat slightly to get her attention, which worked after a moment where she slowly looked up at him. He nearly flinched at the lost look in her eyes, as if she didn't know why she was there. She was so…out of it, it was scary. She was usually so full of fire, and she would smack him upside the head whenever he was his usual perverted self. But now…

"Hey, Shadowpaw, how are ya doing?" He tried to smile at her, but it slowly slipped away when she did not respond in the least. She didn't even blink at him. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. How was he supposed to get her to talk? Put on a grass skirt and do the hula? Actually, she dared him to do that once…but after he said that he'd only do it if she did it in a bikini and in a tub of chocolate pudding, she dropped the dare.

All joking aside, how _was _he going to get her back to normal again?

He was saved the trouble of figuring it out when the door opened again to let in who he presumed was the doctor. He turned his gaze to examine the 'trespasser', his eyes narrowed suspiciously, before they widened in surprise and recognition. Soon afterwards, he grinned and stood up to walk over and greet his 'old friend'…

"Kussia! Or, should I say, Dr. Windokin!" Sly gave him his usual friendly pat on the back and mischievous grin, to which was returned with a frown and a sigh. The gray squirrel looked at his old college roommate with weary blue eyes, as if he didn't want to have to deal with his antics right now. Sly, however, had another idea as he grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him outside, saying to Shadowpaw, "We'll be right back, after we catch up a little bit!"

As soon as they were outside of the room and the door was shut, though, Sly's demeanor changed completely. He went from his normal good-natured-self to something more serious, his smile dropping to reveal his real emotions; worry, anger, and even a bit of helplessness and confusion. Kussia was surprised by this, but he didn't let it show for long before he cleared his throat and said, "I assume that you want to see her medical records."

Sly nodded, but not before joking half-heartedly, "Although assuming makes an ass out of you and me." He waited as patiently as he could while the squirrel unclipped the folder from his clipboard, and then he took it with a 'thanks' as he flipped it open and scanned it.

After a while of silence, where Kussia stared at Sly's face to see his reaction, he witnessed one of the few and rare times that Sly let his mortality catch up to him; usually he acted 'above the world', and bad things that happened didn't seem to be able to touch him. But now, as he looked through the contents of the vanilla folder, his old roommate could see the anger bubbling up into his eyes. It seemed the fox did, indeed, see red when he looked up at Kussia and said questioningly, "Bruised ribs? Several long and deep cuts? Fractured foot? And several other such injuries?" His tone, although as cold as the Northern winds, was filled with the anticipation of molten lava oozing from an erupting volcano.

Kussia nodded, his lips in a tight grim line, and added, "The police haven't been able to find your cousin, either. We've tried to get a hold of him, but it just goes straight to his voicemail." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you."

Sly gritted his teeth and spat out, "What do you mean, 'it goes straight to his voicemail'? He _always _answers his phone!" He raised his fist, but after a moment of hesitation, he just slammed it into the wall, earning the attention of several of the nurses. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he leaned against the wall, going over everything in his mind. It was silent between the two once more, and the gray squirrel glanced over into the room where the cause of all of this worry and tension came from. He watched as the feline leaned back to lie down, and flinched when she winced and seemed to hiss in pain. Tears welled up in her eyes, and he had to tear his eyes away so he wouldn't have to watch her in such pain and sorrow. Sly had a right to be angry.

"How long?" Kussia looked at his friend questioningly, wondering what he meant. "How long until she leaves?"

Glad that he was still keeping his cool, the squirrel answered, "Well, she'll have to stay in the hospital for at least a few weeks for the ribs, but she'll need to have a cast for at least three months for her foot. We can't deal with _that, _unfortunately. She shouldn't walk around, not even with crutches. It's not a funny matter to heal bruised ribs, especially if they aren't treated right."

Sly, still with his eyes closed, thought over the matter for a while, weighing the possibility of her going home. 'What home?' She virtually lived with them, since her family was poor and couldn't support all of their children. Their oldest didn't live with them, but it was still too costly. That was why when Dawn offered her a place to live, she just couldn't refuse. That way, Shadowpaw's mother, father, other older sister, and younger brother could still afford to live in their house together. It was one of the things she gave up for her family. Now, in her time of need, her boyfriend was nowhere to be found. 'What must she be thinking, I wonder? Is that why she is so silent?'

"Alright," Sly opened his eyes and nodded at his friend. "She will stay here. But you better make sure nothing happens to her when I'm not here." He didn't even need to say that, though; he knew that she was in good hands.

"What?" Kussia gave a small smirk as he raised his hands defensively. "You don't trust my medical skills?"

"Oh, I trust your skills." Sly returned the smirk with a mischievous glint in his eye. "It's your intentions with beautiful young maidens that I doubt in."

"Hey," Kussia pointed a finger at him, "I'm not the pervert here. _You _are."

"Now, whatever makes you say that?" He laughed and shook his head, turning to walk into the room again. Before he went in, though, he made sure to grab the rear of a passing nurse, earning an 'eep!' in return as she tried to slap him. He slipped away, however, and the nurse gave an indignant 'hmph!' before trotting off, and the entire scene made Kussia chuckle and shake his head. He muttered to himself, "What will I ever do with you, Sly?"

He watched as the red fox approached the injured feline again, and his smirk softened into a small smile as he observed his friend's antics at work. It was amazing, really, how a person that could be so perverted sometimes could also be so wise and worried about someone. Shadowpaw wasn't even technically family; I mean, sure, they were anticipating that she will be one day, but as of now she was just the girlfriend that had stuck for more than a year. Of course, she was so close to everyone in the family, which was why she was invited to come onto their little Thanksgiving Vacation with them. And then…this had to happen. What a way to ruin a holiday.

As he looked in through the glass, he saw a dark reflection standing beside him, but he could have felt his presence anyways. Although he was only an intern, he was still skilled, and he had this feeling around him that made people want to avert their gaze. He always had this aura of importance around him, much like Kussia's, but more arrogant, if not confident. Not to notice him was an insult.

This 'lovely bunch of roses' was a black hedgehog with red streaks on his bent spikes as well as his wrists and legs. He had his arms crossed over his white furry chest and that frown of disappointment that he usually had on as his crimson eyes surveyed the scene. Unlike the interns that normally came to this hospital, he did not carry around a clipboard and bow his head to scribble down notes. He was more of a 'watch while standing silently in a corner' or an 'assist the nurses without looking at them' kind of guy. He stayed there to 'work' for twelve hours straight, from five in the morning to five in the afternoon, and as soon as he was done he disappeared without a trace. No one questioned him.

Not one to beat around the bush, the hedgehog asked, "What's _this_ one's story?"

Kussia sighed. "This is my old buddy's cousin's girlfriend. It seems that, while his cousin was out somewhere, someone came in and beat her with the leg from one of the wooden chairs. Something sharp must have cut her, too, to give her that nasty thing on her shoulder." _His gaze slid over to his companion's reflection as his aqua blue orbs grew icy with cold malice. "Personally, I believe I smell a __rat __in this whole mess. My CSI senses tell me this isn't just a random event."_

"You make it sound as if you're Spiderman," his cold companion scoffed. He slowly glanced over towards the squirrel and taunted, "And you haven't been a part of the CSI for a while now. You might be growing rusty."

"Maybe, Shadow," Kussia nodded his head towards the room they stood before, "But I can tell a malicious intent on revenge when I see it." He left him at that, turning away and walking off to see his other patients. He did have an important place in the hospital, after all; being one of the top doctors wasn't all fun and games. As he walked off, though, he couldn't help but wonder about the feline laying in her bed with her eyes closed, oblivious to Sly's comforting words. 'Who did that to her? It didn't look like some guy just picked some random room to drop into and beat the shit out of someone.' He clenched his fists as his pace turned brisk, determination lighting a fire behind his icy orbs.

He was going to find out what had happened to Shadowpaw, semi-retired CSI or not.

(_broken and the fallen_)

Shadowpaw glanced up as the door opened once more. It was the day after she had come in, and people had been going in and out of her room for a while now; it seemed that all they wanted to do was check and make sure that she was okay. _Would you like some tea? How about a massage? I have a cup of hot cocoa for you right here, Miss._ She sighed, getting thoroughly annoyed by all of the people, and looked back towards the television without even bothering to see who it was. If it was Sly, she was going to –

"_So, _how's the little Buttercup doing today?"

She groaned. 'Sly! I'm gonna strangle him!' Instead, though, she grumbled, "Who gave you the right to call me 'buttercup'?"

Sly sounded extra sweet as he answered, "Oh, but Butterfly, your mother used to _always _call you those sweet little names!" He even dared to pinch her cheek like a grandmother would their grandchildren, but she shook him off and made to bite his fingers. He was too fast for her, however, and so she gave a 'hmph' and crossed her arms, wincing when she felt pain shoot up her back. She didn't complain, though; if she did, Sly would be all over her like butter on a biscuit. 'Eww, scratch that; that sounds wrong.' She grimaced and wondered where she had thought of that, but then remembered that _anything _sounded wrong around Sly. So it was _his _fault.

But, anyways, back to the metaphor; as soon as she even _looked _like she was in pain, Sly would immediately jump on the chance to start treating her extremely nice. _Oh, do you need an icepack? Nurse! Dammit, woman, bring this girl an icepack!_ She would just _die _if that happened. _Again._ Even now, Sly was looking at her as if she was going to die if he blinked, and she sighed and said, "Yes? Can I help you?"

Sly grinned at her. "No, I believe the question is: Can _I_ help _you?_"

Shadowpaw grimaced. "I'd rather _not, _thank you!"

The fox laughed at her and said, "Oh, but Cupcake, _I _didn't say anything!" He continued to laugh at her until, suddenly, she grabbed him by the collar jerked him forward so that they were eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose. She growled, "If you call me another nickname _one more time, _I will _personally _make sure you never have kids. _Understood?_"

Sly gulped and nodded quickly to show he could comprehend what she meant, and when she pushed him away he saluted her and said, if a little shakily, "Yes, ma'am. Aye aye, captain!" He chuckled nervously at the glare she sent him, but his smile quickly disappeared when she shut her eyes tight with a slight intake of air. The atmosphere grew tense with worry, regret, and grief.

She gulped, her throat feeling dry, and she croaked, "Can you pass me that mug of hot chocolate?" In a pathetic attempt to cover up her pain, she half-joked, "That damn nurse keeps coming in here to check if I drank it."

Seeing how hard she was trying to seem perfectly normal, he relented and handed her the cup, and warned her, "Careful, it's hot."

She rolled her eyes and mumbled as she lifted up the mug, "That's why it's called _hot _chocolate, Sly." She took a sip, but then she spluttered and held the mug away from her, wheezing, "_Ho-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ot!_" She then proceeded to try to cool her tongue by fanning it with her hand as Sly chuckled at her misfortune. He said in a sing-song voice, "I _told _you!"

"Thut up," she growled with her tongue still sticking out, making her look pretty immature as she put the mug down and glared at it, crossing her arms. She seemed to be trying to send the mug a look that said 'I hate you', but…it didn't seem to affect it too much. As some famous guy once said, 'never fight an inanimate object.'

Sly sighed, seeing that she was at least back to her stubborn self, and turned to the person who Shadowpaw hadn't seemed to notice yet. He had just stood in the corner, watching them, and it didn't occur to the fox until now that maybe he shouldn't have called her all of those names in front of him. It might have conveyed the wrong message…

"Well," the red fox turned back to the oblivious feline, a slightly nervous look on his face, and said, "I must be going, you know; got important things to do, places to see, _people _to meet." At the stressed word 'people', Shadowpaw glanced at him with a look that said 'what kind of people?', but he just chuckled and ruffled her head-fur. "Don't get into trouble while I'm gone!"

"What trouble can I do in a hospital bed?" She grumbled it rather sourly as the fox exited the room, but it wasn't long until she heard an '_eep!_' and then the expected '_smack!_'. She sighed and shook her head. "He's at it again…" She grumbled on about 'perverted foxes' and their 'wandering hands' as she closed her eyes and leaned back into the elevated bed. It was positioned so it was like one of those 'lazy boy' or 'lay-z-boy' or whatever-they-were chairs, so she could lean back without hurting herself _too _badly. In all reality, everything hurt, just…some things more than others. Still not noticing her 'company', she gave a deeper, more relaxed sigh as she tried to ignore all of the busy noises of the hospital. Stress did strange things to a person, like making Shadowpaw completely oblivious to people in the same room.

He watched her with crimson orbs, not saying a word to see how long it would take for her to feel his presence. When the fox had been here, she had been distracted, and so that was an excuse. But now, when no one else was there, he thought that she would have at least looked at him by now. He was getting a little irked by this, not liking being ignored (even though it was unintentional), but he kept his silence as he watched her, analyzing everything she did; every sigh of weariness, every stiff movement that showed fatigue, every wince and hiss of pain. It was all memorized and locked away, filed into the back of his mind for later use. She did not lay on her right side; rather, she preferred to only put any type of pressure or stress on her uninjured shoulder. He immediately disapproved of that; if she did not at least stretch the muscles, they would get stiff and sore. Another thing he found wrong was the way she would occasionally use her toe to try to scratch at her cast. He gave a mental nod towards the firm-but-not-too-tight bindings around her midsection, which he could see bulged ever-so-slightly in back of the accursed hospital dress. Kussia had made sure that no inexperienced staff entered this room, obviously. (A minor compliment towards himself hidden not-too-discreetly there)

He nearly sighed when, once more, her socked foot rose to rub against her leg, as if the cast was irritating her. 'It's not a scratching post, and it _won't _help in the long run if she keeps it up.' He was going to go over there and stop her himself when she froze up, tension evident and building up behind her muscles as she slowly opened up her eyes. Shadow couldn't help but think, '_Finally._'

Her foot stayed frozen slightly in the air as she glanced around the room, the prickling on her neck bothering her until she spotted him standing there, watching her. She blinked a couple of times, as if expecting him to be a figment of her imagination, but when he didn't disappear she frowned at him. Irritated that she hadn't heard him enter, she asked him, "What are _you _doing here? To give me a _massage?_" She scoffed, rolling her eyes and thinking of how annoying the hospital was, when –

"I'm not here to _serve_ you," he sneered, dislike already growing towards the feline. 'How _dare _she suggest such a thing? Me, stooping as low as that?' He would watch her like Kussia asked. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Oh…" Shadow nearly sneered again at her obvious statement showing her surprise, and he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall to get comfortable. They sort of just stared at each other for a while, with the feline not knowing what to do and the hedgehog not _wanting _to do anything. His pose was indifferent, yet relaxed, and his unrelenting gaze slowly began to creep her out. He just kept staring, barely blinking, and he didn't move from his position. With one shoe up to rest the soles on the wall, he was calm, but detached, looking as cold as an ice-cube. 'I wouldn't be surprised if he was cold-blooded,' Shadowpaw joked with a half-dead humor.

Finally, she couldn't stand the silence anymore. The first thing that came to mind was 'can I help you?', but she didn't want to be repetitive, so instead she asked, "So…what _are _you here for?" She didn't care if he was the Grim Reaper waiting to reap her soul; she just wanted him to _stop staring!_

"Watching." He said it as if it was normal to do that. He didn't even blink as he said it. 'Does she really expect me to be here for another reason?'

Shadowpaw, already tense and stressed as it was, scoffed and rolled her eyes. "No, _really? _I hadn't noticed." She went to roll over on her side, as if to escape from his stare, but a sharp pain in her side made her stop as she let slip a small gasp. She tried to clutch where the pain was to make it stop, but when her shoulder twitched it wouldn't move any farther without it stinging. She hissed, "_Dammit…_" Slowly, after taking as deep of a breath her ribs would let her, she reached her uninjured arm over and clutched her shoulder. It burned, but she just scrunched her eyes shut and held it tightly in an attempt to squeeze the pain out of it. She made sure not to breath too deeply as she calmed her wounds down, much like a woman would calm her fussing child. After a while, her shoulder went to a dull throb, and she let go and sighed. Thoroughly pissed by her pain and weakness, she muttered, "Shit…" This was _not _what she was supposed to look like. She was a strong, independent feline who took no shit from _anyone_. But, after…

Her eyes snapped open when she heard the door open, and at first the sight of white made her blood run cold. Her heart-rate sped up and she almost started to panic. But, when her vision focused and she saw who it was, she was barely able to groan, "Oh, no –"

"_Big sister!_" The feline was engulfed in a choking hug from a white blur, and she gasped and croaked, "_Ack, oww, pain! __**Pain!**_"

After a moment, she was released, and the white feline who had grabbed such a tight hold of her grinned at her and chuckled, "Aww, stop being such a baby! You can take a little hug, cantchya?" He was her younger brother, of course, and shared the same pair of brilliant golden eyes with her and their father. The only other thing that he didn't get from his mother (like most of his fur) was a patch of black on his forehead in the shape of a diamond, which is (as his mother jokes) 'a little patch of his father's spirit' on his son. Speaking of her father, another cat, this one male and black with a white tail-tip, entered the room with a smile on his face as soon as he saw his daughter. Shadowpaw's face brightened as well, and she said with slight surprise, "Star, Dad! You're both here!"

"Yep!" 'Star' (his nickname; his real name was Shane Jr.) was moving from foot-to-foot, being as energetic as usual as he smiled at her. Her father explained, "We came as soon as we heard, but we had to leave your mother and Lucy home." He seemed bit sad at this, especially when he added, "Scarlet had…other things to attend to."

Shadowpaw's mouth twitched slightly, but it went unnoticed (for the most part; at least, by Star) as she nodded to show she understood. She knew exactly what those 'other things' were; she had just gotten married and had been trying to settle down for a while now. She was a bit disappointed, but she knew that her sister had a lot on her plate and was still as worried as her parents and brother were. Besides, it's not like she was _hoping _she'd come; she'd already known it wasn't likely. So it wasn't as bad as it could be, or at least she told herself that. Inside, maybe the more selfish part of her, thought that she should have dropped everything and came as fast as possible to see her.

Then, the brother pounced. He jumped onto the bed, landing on Shadowpaw's stomach and knocking the air out of her lungs, and started talking at the speed of light, "Are you okay, are you dying, what's that on your shoulder, oh my God, is that a cast, what did you –"

"_Shane Snow Starlight Fur Jr., get down this instant._" The firm yet calm tone of their father's voice, and the pained look on his sister's face, made him leap off immediately and stare at his feet, embarrassed. He was often like this, getting out of control and panicking and such, but now wasn't a good time to start acting up like this. His father reminded him, "You _said _you were going to be on your _best behavior._" He mumbled a quiet 'sorry', shuffling his feet and keeping his gaze on the ground.

Shadow watched the entire thing with slight disdain. She had someone who would rush over to give her a hug, to see if she was okay, to be there when she needed them. He almost felt jealous, but then he reminded himself, 'This hedgehog is _never _jealous of _anyone._' So, instead he just scowled as he went to looking out of the window, watching the nurses and doctors that walked by hurriedly.

Shadowpaw gave a weak smile even as she breathed a bit raggedly, and she assured them, "Don't worry, I'm fine, really. Just…just a little scratch, is all." No matter how much she tried, though, she knew they wouldn't believe her. Even now, as she looked at her father and brother's matching eyes, she could see the doubt and worry in them. She was hoping they wouldn't, but then Star naively asked the dreaded question:

"What happened?"

Silence invaded their ears for a moment, leaving the hedgehog wondering what caused the color to slightly drain from her face. It was surprising how quickly the atmosphere in the room changed, freezing everyone to their bones. Each person, even Shadow, was looking at her expectantly; Shane had his mouth set in a thin, grim line as if afraid to know the truth; Star's eyes were wide with naïve innocence tinted dull with worry; even Shadow straightened up slightly and rotated his ears to listen to her better. Shadowpaw's eyes traveled around the room, looking at each face in turn, and then returned her gaze to her father's. She sighed, looking as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she closed her eyes and tilted her head down. "I'd rather…" She winced slightly, and then continued quietly, "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Her father, although looking as if he wanted to force the answer out of her now, understood that it might be uncomfortable for her to talk about, and (which he dreaded) she didn't want her brother to hear.

It would be a talk between father and daughter alone.

In order to get the attention off of her for a moment, Shane looked down at his son and asked, "Would you like to get some ice cream from the machine down the hall?" He smiled softly as the white cat jumped up and down excitedly, and when Star started to pull him out the door he chuckled and said, "Hold your horses, son!" Then, as an afterthought, Star stuck his head back in and asked his sister, "Would ya like anything, sis?"

Shadowpaw put a hand on her chin, faking deep though, and said, "I believe one of those chocolate-éclair-ice-cream-thingies would do nicely!" She smiled as her brother giggled and ran out after his father with a 'wait up!', and she sighed and mumbled to herself, "He's such a dork, I swear…" Feeling a little better that her family (well, part of her family at least) had come to visit her, she laid back down only wincing slightly as her ribs ached in protest and settled down as if to go to sleep.

Unfortunately, the hedgehog still in the room wouldn't let her rest without his curiosity being satisfied.

"That was your family?" A stupid question to ask, but he needed to start with something. Besides, he wanted to hear it from her own mouth. He watched as she frowned, as if she had been hoping that he had gone, and she opened one eye to glance at him as she answered bluntly, "Yeah…" She looked a bit wary, as if wondering why he cared (which he didn't), but eventually when she thought that he was done she closed her eye again and got herself comfortable. But he wasn't finished with her yet.

"You have a sister?"

Sighing exasperatedly, she opened her eyes and sat up so she could stare at him at the same level. With him around, she obviously wasn't going to get any rest. Not caring if he saw how annoyed she was, she replied, "_Two,_ actually." Then, knowing that if she explained in-depth that he would have less questions, she added, "Lucy lives with Mom, Dad, and Star, while Scarlet is off in her own house with her husband. She's expecting, too."

Now having his eyes on her, he looked satisfied that she was cooperating, as if he had expected nothing less, and he continued with his interrogation with pleasure. "So only your father and brother came to see you?"

"_Yes,_" she almost hissed it at him, as if him saying it made her remember the fact. She seemed a little agitated about that piece of information, and so he delved into the subject to learn the reason. "Why?"

"_I don't know __**why.**_" Now she was _really _irritated. "Scarlet has her _own _stuff to deal with, and Mom has to take care of the house." She narrowed her eyes at him, but her eyes looked a little glossy as if she wasn't really glaring at him. She grumbled, "I don't know about _Lucy_, and I don't really _care._" Then, she blinked as if coming back to reality and crossed her arms while continuing to glower at the hedgehog that was bothering her. Now mostly just talking to herself, she muttered, "Sly's off to do his thing, and my other friends are all the way back home." She glanced at the window to her right, thinking deeply as she stared at the hallway. "They're all busy, too." She sounded as if she was trying to reassure herself.

A bit disappointed that she didn't sound as much of the spitfire that Kussia had said she was, the hedgehog went to look out of the window as if bored with her. "And they were too busy to even give you a call…" Since he wasn't looking at her or her reflection, he didn't see the way her head snapped back to glare at him, but he was able to hear how furious she was when she hissed at him, "What the hell do _you _know, you damn prick?" His attention now back on her, his eyes went to her reflection as she spat, "Get the _hell _out of my business!" She looked absolutely livid, and the way her amber orbs burned like two suns made him actually blink in surprise. He hadn't been expecting her to snap like that after seeming so meek, and so he could only stare at her reflection, examining the way she was glaring at him before two blurs of black and white came across his field of vision. He looked away from the door as her father and brother came back in, Star skipping over to his sister and handing her what she had asked for, oblivious to her fury. Then, after his father came to stand beside him, the little kid tilted his head and followed her eyes to see the hedgehog standing there with his arms crossed, looking as if he didn't notice anyone else was in the room. The white cat then leaned over to whisper in his sister's ear, "He's _scary._"

After a moment, Shadowpaw blinked and looked at her brother, looking a bit surprised that he was there, as if she hadn't noticed they had come in. Then, after registering what he had said, she smirked and turned her head to reply quietly, "I don't think he'll be hiding under your bed, so chill." As he giggled and her father blinked in confusion, Shadow glanced over to see her smirking at him, her eyes twinkling with some inside joke. He quickly looked back out the window, avoiding Shane's gaze as he examined the hedgehog he hadn't seen earlier. Puzzled, he turned to his daughter with the intent to ask her about him later, and began to do casual conversation with her, trying to keep this day as normal as possible for her.

As the family went on around him, Shadow realized that, while she had been mumbling about the people she knew, she hadn't even mentioned her 'boyfriend' that was missing at the moment. Frowning, he planned to investigate a little bit further, not because he cared, but because he was curious as to what happened that day in the hotel room to leave that much blood pooling on the ground.

**Six days later…**

Shadow sighed as he walked down the empty sidewalk to the hospital downtown. It had been a week since that cat had entered the hospital, and he was slightly later than he usually was since he went to the closest open café to get a cup of coffee (he really needed it; he had nearly no sleep the night before) and that was a bit out of his routine route. A bit irked that his weariness was affecting his pace, he took another sip from the cup and picked it up a bit until he was power-walking. In no time at all, he turned around the corner to find the front doors, as well as someone _else_, staring him in the face.

Well, actually, that someone else's back, to be precise.

"_Dammit,_" he heard the stranger mutter, and he slowed his walk so he could silently creep up behind him. At first he thought of that _other _feline's younger brother, but that was immediately cast away at the sight. He examined the snow white feline with a bit of anxiousness, a feeling in his gut making him question why the cat was holding a beer bottle in one hand as he lurked at the entrance.

Drunk, and shaking with some type of contained emotion, the feline yelled with a slur in his voice, "Open the goddamn door, assholes!" The tremors in his body seemed to worsen as the nurse inside looked at him nervously, unsure of what to do, and he shook the bottle threateningly and snarled from behind the glass, "You bitch, open the fucking door!"

Fortunately for the nurse, Shadow stepped up and announced his presence. "You," he addressed the stranger, who in turn whirled around to face him with the bottle raised defensively. Not fazed, the hedgehog inquired coolly, "What are you doing here, harassing the hospital staff?"

His blood-red eyes narrowed dangerously when the cat mumbled, "None of your goddamn business, you fucking prick." Then, the nurse couldn't take it anymore and opened the door to let in the angry drunk, and the feline shoved her to the floor as he went past while he grumbled darkly about God-knows-what. He went to the entrance to the stairs and slammed open the doors, and they swung shut behind him as he (fortunately) left them standing there staring after him.

Sighing and noting how that the longer he stayed the crazier the people seemed to get, Shadow entered the hospital with a silent nod towards the distressed nurse getting herself up from the floor. Walking into the elevator and pressing the '5' for his destination, he pondered on whether he should ask Kussia about the feline visitor. When he arrived at the floor and the doors slid open, though, he was surprised to see the feline trudging down the hallway, bottle still in hand. Wondering how a drunk could walk up the stairs so fast, Shadow finally decided to follow the feline to see where he was going. After that 'prick' comment piqued his interest and reminded him of what that black cat always called him, he wanted to see just what this drunkard's problem was. Making sure that he wasn't noticed (for once), he quietly tailed behind the intruder at a distance in case he grew violent. Not that he was scared, but he'd rather avoid a confrontation entirely.

He was surprised after a while to notice that he recognized this hallway. Soon enough, surprise turned into uneasiness as he realized who this feline possibly was, and what he may be dealing with.

Sure enough, he led him to room 307's door, but to his astonishment the cat lifted his leg and slammed it into the wood. Shadow looked into the window and watched as the feline inside started to stir at the second bang, and when she sat up and looked out she saw only the hedgehog at first and her frown showed her confusion and displeasure at being awakened. But, when the feline kicked the door a third time and she finally noticed him, a look of pure horror and terror came across her face, and she sat up quickly and leapt out her bed, which proved to be her downfall as pain and her ankle made her fall to the floor. Just as she hit the ground, the feline finally kicked the door open and entered angrily, waving the bottle furiously.

Shadow found this as the proper time to act; he quickly rushed in and grabbed the feline from behind, moving his head to narrowly avoid being smacked by the swung bottle. It flew and hit the bed, exploding into thousands of pieces and barely missing the feline on the ground. As he kept him subdued, the feline resorted to yelling at her. "You bitch," he hissed and then tried to elbow the hedgehog, but when he failed to hurt him he growled and repeated, "You _bitch!_" He desperately tried to escape the intern's grip, but Shadow held him strongly and slowly pulled him away from the fallen cat.

But, no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't stop him from talking.

"You fucking _bitch!_" He just wouldn't shut up. "You tried to run! You bitch, you tried to _run _from me, to _**escape**_, _**didn't**_ _you?!_"

She only managed to choke out a 'no' before suddenly the intruder was taken from Shadow's grip and slammed into the wall. Angry red eyes glared into furious icy orbs as the gray squirrel said lowly and calmly, "I don't know what the _hell_ is going on, but my patient is hurt, I'm pissed, and _someone_ has disappeared for a week without warning anyone." The hands gripping the drunk's shoulders squeezed harder, and as the hedgehog and feline watched a red lizard in a police officer's uniform rushed into the room, Kussia nodded at the newcomer before returning his attention to the feline. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I want some answers."


	2. Broken Man

A/N: If you don't like sad, tragic stories, then you probably shouldn't read this.

Also, I know that 'Broken Man' is for a guy, but let's just pretend that it also fits for girls, 'kay? In this instance, it's for poor old Shadowpaw.

'_I won't let you bring me down; it's here and now, I'm breaking out.__ I will learn to love again, but I will stand_

_a broken man.'_

_**Boys Like Girls, 'Broken Man'**_

**Four years later…**

Shadowpaw sighed as she stood in the check-out line of the grocery store with the cart piled with food and supplies she needed. She had woken up that morning to an empty fridge, and she decided that it was a good time to do her shopping. Also, she was starting a new job soon, (although it really wasn't a _job_, she still got paid) and she needed to do some research and tried to get her hands on any source of information. She didn't want to get caught unawares, especially with her finally getting into college using the internet. She usually worked at a bookstore not too far from her house (so close that she could walk there), but she needed to get more money so she could pay for the college debts, and so she had quit working there with the promise to visit the people there often. She had actually made a lot of friends in there, and she would always smile at the familiar faces, but now she needed to focus on her future and not dwell forever on the present.

She finally got up to the register and took out her wallet, sighing as the last bit of her money went to her groceries. That was her paycheck from her last week of working at the bookstore, hand-delivered by her friend, Periwinkle, who also happened to be Sly's new girlfriend. They hung out a bit at the condo they both shared, but Shadowpaw had to say that they had completely different points-of-view. The purple fox just was too girly for the feline's taste; while she talked about boys and make-up, Shadowpaw just sort of zoned out and pretended to listen, until Periwinkle noticed that she wasn't and would scold her profusely. She didn't listen to that, either, so the fox would end up throwing her hands up in the air and complaining that 'all the woman are turning into tomboys' and stomp out of the room, to which Shadowpaw snickered at and smirked. It was actually kind of fun to annoy her, and so she did it often.

The feline walked out of the store with bags in tow, turning down the nice samaritan who offered to help her with them, and clicked the button on her key-chain to unlock the doors and open the trunk. She dropped them all rather haphazardly into the back and closed the trunk before jumping into the car and hurrying out of the parking lot, determined to get there on time. Sly had said that he would meet them at her and Periwinkle's house, so she put the pedal to the metal and sped down the road. Miraculously, she wasn't caught by a policeman and made it to the driveway without crashing and leapt out, but before she got to the door she was suddenly enveloped in a bone-crushing hug from behind. She yelped and turned around only to scoff at the sight of the purple fox smiling at her. She let go of her and greeted, "Good to see you, Shadowpaw! What were you doing?"

Shadowpaw rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, I was shopping." She rolled her eyes again when Periwinkle gasped incredulously, and she corrected, "Grocery shopping." The fox just gave a small 'oh' before she smiled and said, "Oh yeah, Sly said that he was going to bring us somewhere to unwind in a little while."

"Yeah, Sly told me that, too." She frowned and looked up at the sky in pondering. "I wonder what he meant?"

Periwinkle sighed. "Knowing _him, _it's going to be a bar or a strip club or some other type of club." Then, she brightened up and added, "I hope it's a big club, though, with lights and music and everything! I haven't been out dancing for a while."

"I haven't been out dancing since _high school._" The fox winced and looked at her sympathetically, to which the feline scowled and said, "But I really don't want to go out and party all night. Not with…" She trailed off.

Periwinkle gave her a soft sisterly smile and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," she told her, "I'm sure that Tikal is doing perfectly fine. She won't let her get into any trouble."

Shadowpaw sighed. "I hope so…" After a moment of an uncomfortable silence, she grinned and joked, "Since you know she's as mischievous as me!" They both laughed, and the fox added, "Let's hope she doesn't turn out like Sly!" More laughter. "Or Kussia!" Even _more _laughter. Shadowpaw agreed in between snickers, "_Definitely…not…him!_" They stood there laughing for a while, with the feline holding her stomach and trying to breathe. After they got over their fit of giggling and snickering, they wiped their eyes just as Sly pulled up into the driveway and got out to look at them curiously. He asked them, "What was all that that I heard out here? What were you laughing at?"

Periwinkle giggled and gave him a hug. "Aww, don't worry about it, sugar. Now, are we going yet?" She almost whined at him, and he chuckled and gave her a playful pat on the head. "Yes, yes, we're going, we're going." He sighed as his girlfriend cheered happily, and then he turned to Shadowpaw and jerked his thumb towards his car beside hers in the driveway. "Come on, I'll drive."

The feline rolled her eyes. "Oh, whoopee. I feel _so _honored." Periwinkle giggled, and they eventually got themselves situated into the car after putting away the groceries in the house. Sly grinned back at the other two and exclaimed, "It's off to Never Land, girls!"

They both rolled their eyes and sighed. "Oi…"

(_the fallen with his fellows_)

Kussia looked around the house as he told the person he was talking with, "Alright, alright, _fine._" He sighed and shook his head. "But you're _not_ going to use my cameras to spy on them." He smirked as he heard a long, sulking sigh, and he said, "It's for your _own good._ It's like an _addiction _to you; you need to get off of it before it gets you into trouble." He nodded as they talked, then sighed and relented, "I'll fire up the hot-tub." He rolled his eyes at the cheers on the other end and told them, "Well, I have to go if I'm going to get it all ready before you get here, so bye." He hung up just as a red echidna walked into the room, and he looked at him with a grin and asked, "So, is the 'prick' here, too?"

"I'm right _here,_" an irritated voice stopped Knuckles from speaking for him as the black hedgehog walked in behind him, glaring at the other two's smirks with a look that said he would kill them in their sleep. He never liked it when the 'elders' would decide to annoy him, especially with that nickname, even though he had finally graduated the school and was now an equal part of their staff; after all, he had his own patients and appointments, but they acted as if he was the 'freshman' of the group. And it irked him to no end when they decided to make fun of how they were taller than him. A _squirrel _and _echidna, _taller than _him._ He would just snarl at them and continue his work, attempting to ignore their roaring laughter as they loomed over him to look over his shoulder. It was _extremely _annoying. He _hated _annoying people. Unfortunately, the person who annoyed him the _most_ was his _boss, _so he couldn't really do anything on _that _part…oh, well. He'd just do something underhanded and sneaky to get them back, like forget to give them a memo or not tell them where he was for 24 hours. It's the small things that are the most annoying: if you can notice it, but you can't do anything about it, it is insignificant enough so you can't really get angry about it but it is annoying enough to get your attention. And that was his day-to-day life in a nutshell.

"What are you planning," the echidna asked, curiosity overpowering his urge to annoy the hedgehog who was still fuming beside him. After all, he would only really try to pester him if Kussia was in on it, and then it was only because of the safety in numbers. Also, he considered Shadow to be his closest friend, so he really wasn't out to get him or anything.

Kussia grinned at the two with their ears rotated towards him eager and anxious to get his answer, and he finally told them, "Sly said that he wanted to bring the girls over with him so that they could all hang out with us." On a side note, he added mostly to himself, "He hasn't hung out with us in a while, and I haven't even got a chance to see how he is with his new girlfriend."

"_Another _one?" Shadow inquired in a sour tone, and all three of them sighed as the squirrel concurred, "_Yes, _Shadow, _another _one. This would, I believe, be his _fifth _this year. But," he admitted, "I think this one will stick around, even if for a little while." He nodded. "She's a good persistent girl…for the most part."

Knuckles grinned, seeing an opportunity in the making to make-up for teasing Shadow. "Yeah, she's _persistent, _alright; she _stalked _you for nearly a year before you finally introduced her to Sly in hopes of shoving her off onto him!" He snickered as Kussia gave him a cold glare, and Shadow felt a bit satisfied that Knuckles was still on his side. After all, you couldn't be against the _entire _world alone. Kussia tried to cover up his discomfiture by countering, "Well, he had just broken up with that Hannah chick, so it was only right!" He crossed his arms and grumbled to himself, "Geez, I make _one little mistake _to _talk _to a girl, and _suddenly _she's _all over me _and…" He continued to grumble darkly about things as the other two smirked at his distress before they turned towards each other to talk between themselves. "So," Knuckles started, "how's the hospital work going? Getting lots of patients and all?"

Shadow nodded at him, although grimacing at the word 'patients'. He mumbled, "More like _psychopath patients;_ most of the people I get are completely _nuts._ For example," he crossed his arms and glared at a wall, "there was that _one _pink hedgehog who was absolutely certain that I was 'her Sonic' simply because I 'felt' like him when she _hugged _me upon entering the room." He sighed and shook his head. "It turns out that she was actually _blind_ because of an accident when she was younger, but she was still _annoying_ whenever she would hug anyone who walked in the door. I ended up trying to avoid her as much as possible, _but _she likes to occasionally come in and say 'hello' to her 'moody, broody pal'." He scoffed at the idea, while Knuckles just grinned at his misery and offered, "Well, I think I know that hedgehog that she's talking about: he was an old college roommate of mine back before I joined the military for a time, and later he joined, too." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I haven't heard from him for a while now; he's still in it, even _after _he got off of the mandatory time. He says he likes the 'adventure'." He sighed. "You know, I should see when he gets one of those select few vacation days and ask him to come down here…"

"_No._" Knuckles looked up at him curiously, raising an eyebrow. Shadow grumbled, "Then that _pink…creature_ will follow him and might find me here." He shuddered, and when his friend started to laugh he glared at him before turning and crossing his arms as he stared at the wall. He didn't like being on the butt of everyone's jokes, and yet he was every day with Kussia and his crowd around. Well, at least with Knuckles, it was just playful teasing, although that still annoyed him.

"Hey, guys," Kussia called from the other room, "I think I heard Sly's car pull up. Can one of you go check?"

Knuckles told him that they would, and then he nudged the hedgehog and advised him that he should do it. "Why should _I_," he asked irritably, and the echidna gave him a little smirk at his annoyance before he answered him, "Because, if _I_ go, I will be insulted and not realize it until a few minutes afterwards. He wouldn't dare insult _you, _and you can use this as an IOU for me. Now, go on!" He 'shooed' him out like a mother cleaning the kitchen would, and Shadow scowled at him before he walked out into the front hallway. He was right, though; out of everyone that he knew, Sly was the only one who didn't follow the trend and pick on him. That made Sly on his good list, if he looked over his acts of lecherousness as just a overdose of hormones or something. He sighed and opened the door right before the red fox knocked.

Sly had his hand up to knock, but then it changed from a fist to a wave as he said, "Well, hello! I didn't think _you _would come!" He was standing right in the doorway, so Shadowpaw and Periwinkle couldn't see who it was at first. Then, Sly turned back to look at them and motioned, "Well, come on! I'm pretty sure they won't bite!" He smirked as they glared at him, knowing that he was going to say something stupid. He raised his hands defensively and said, "Now, girls, I wasn't going to say anything! It's just _your _minds that thought of such nasty things."

"Oh, save it for someone who cares," Shadowpaw rolled her eyes, and she walked in as she shook her head, not paying any attention to anything other than the room she had stepped into. Shadow caught sight of the back of her baggy green shirt and blue jeans as she entered, and something about her was familiar, like her voice. He looked her up and down, and her memorable tail confirmed it. He knew her from somewhere…

She stopped and looked around, approving the decoration that brightened up the room, and it reminded her of the show 'Cribs' as she murmured, "Nice hang out…" The wooden flooring reflected the wicked lighting from above and made it look smooth and untouched like a calm lake surface, and to her left a glass wall stood, letting them clearly see one of the huge living rooms in the house. A picture was hanging on the wall opposite of her, with a tall, stern gray squirrel that seemed to be watching her, and she shivered slightly and wondered how a guy like that could enjoy a place like this. But, then again, it was probably a picture the father of the household's owner (and it was). Down the long but still nicely lit hallway through the door, she could see glimpses of another gathering area that looked like a celebrity should own it, with how it was designed to be and how practical yet, to put it one way, 'chic' it was.

She turned to Sly standing next to her with a grin and asked incredibly, "This is a _house?_"

"Of course!" Sly held out his arms, as if to emphasize the size of the 'house', before giving her a bow. "This, my _adorable_ little pudding cup, is the abode of our _humble_ Kussia R. Windokin, who I believe you may remember." He still hadn't given up the pastime of calling her nicknames, much to her dislike.

Her eye twitched. Oh, yeah, she remembered him. She growled, "Wasn't _he_ the one who 'accidentally' let the door slam on my foot after I called him an 'annoying little rat'?"

Sly nodded. "Yep, that's the one."

She narrowed her eyes and smirked a bit. "So, where _is _the little rat, anyways?"

"Now, don't get any ideas," Sly went to say, but he was interrupted when Kussia himself came into the room to welcome them. The squirrel told Shadowpaw, "I'm _taller_ than you, so I think you'd better shush and come see what _else _is here." He smirked at her scowl and walked out, signaling for them to follow him to the main rooms. Sly passed her as she pouted and gave her a wink before disappearing through the doorway, with Periwinkle soon after him, and she sighed and shook her head. "How they convinced me to come here, I have _no _idea."

"Then why don't you leave?"

She jumped at the voice close behind her and whirled around in fright, ready to defend herself if need be. But, at the sight of the relaxed position of the black hedgehog, she put her fists down and gave him a glare and snapping, "What the hell was _that_ for, you –" The last word didn't quite leave her mouth as she seemed to realize who she was staring at, and her mouth hung open slightly in surprise as no sound came out. With a familiar sneer, he finished the sentence for her, "Prick?"

"You…" She couldn't really say much else, for she had never caught his name all of those years ago and had nearly forgotten about him after all of this time. She wanted so badly to have some witty little comment to say back to him to spite him for his unpleasant treatment of her back at the hospital, but none would come to her, and the moment to say something was gone as Sly called back to them, "Shadow, Shadowpaw, come here!" Her ears perked up at the name similar to hers, and she watched as he gave her one last blank stare before walking off to join the others. She shivered, although it was rather warm in there, and she thought as she followed him, 'Geez, hasn't changed much these past four years, has he?'

As she began to walk into the room, though, she accidentally bumped into him as he stopped in the middle of the hallway to turn back to face her again. She was going to ask what he was doing, bumping into people like that, when he raised a hand to stop her and gave her a stern stare. He started cool and calmly, "When you walk in, look to the left first," he held out his right arm (since, you know, he's facing the opposite direction), as if insulting her by proposing that she couldn't figure it out herself, "and _don't take the root beer._" He shook a stern finger at her."Trust me. Oh," he held up a finger when she started to push him out of the way, "the red echidna is only joking, so don't kill him. _And_," he grabbed her arm to stop her from moving past him, smirking at the way her eye twitched, "if you're gonna kill Kussia, tell me first, so I can vouch for you when you get locked away."

"Anything _else, O Delaying One,_" she growled at him, waiting for him to give some sharp retort or another stupid request. He just grinned at her impishly. "Nope."

"Then let _go _of me!" She wrenched her arm out of his grip with surprising strength and hurried off into the room, and Shadow watched with satisfaction that she hesitated before heeding his advice and looking to the left. He closed his eyes and waited – ah, there it was: the surprised gasp mixed with joy and envy. Oh, he loved to do that; it made others jealous of what he had a share in. As he walked in, Knuckles rolled his eyes and asked him, "Do you _have _to do that _every_ time?"

"Yes, Knuckles, I do."

She was looking at a tropical looking bar, with the coconut cups and everything from tiki torches to leis. Kussia sat behind the counter, with Sly before him drinking something in chugs, doing what you would normally see a bartender doing, but with a twist – instead of the ugly glass mug and dirty rag, the squirrel made it look right to scrub the inside of a coconut with a giant leaf. Turns out the leaf is actually just a cloth in the _design_ of a leaf, and most of the coconuts aren't real, but hey! Whatever works, works, right?

"Why did I have to…?" Shadowpaw turned around to question the two behind her, and all of the males smirked at her second, even bigger gasp as she saw what else was there. Other than the hot-tub as big as an Olympic _swimming pool_, there was a water slide or two, a sort of playground made completely out of an assortment of plastic pipes of all sizes, _plus_ a stage, a basketball field, a baseball field, a _soccer _field, his own private restaurant, _and_ a place to play badminton. After a while of astonishment, she frowned and tilted her head. "You play badminton?"

Kussia shook his head and said, "It makes me look more professional."

Knuckles snorted and commented, "Seriously, who_ plays_ badminton these days?"

"Touché." She nodded in agreement, smirking at the idea that they would be doing it when they were all ugly, old men. That made her feel _loads_ better.

"_So,_" Sly leaned back up against the bar and looked around him, "what shall we do _now?_"

Knuckles raised his hand. "I say hot-tub!"

Kussia did the same. "I say the same."

Shadowpaw tilted her head and wondered why there wasn't another female joining the show of hands. Periwinkle _loved_ hot-tubs. "Wait, Sly, where's…?"

He jerked his head and pointed his thumb towards a hallway leading somewhere with its snake-like twists and turns. "She went to the bathroom, but I think she may have gotten lost…" He got up with a sigh and said that he'd go get her. "She's probably ogling at all of the statues."

'…In the _bathroom?_' She blinked, the only sign of her confusion, but she quickly shook her head and told him warningly, "Don't take too long, Sly, or I'll follow you with a mallet to set you straight."

"But I'm as straight as a board!" He laughed as he whipped around the corner, and she sighed and mumbled, "That's the problem…" As she muttered dark things about foxes and such, her ears twitched as she realized a conversation was going on around her. Returning her attention to the others, she felt a bit alone being in the middle of all of these guys. Sure, she knew Kussia (although that really didn't help), and she sort of knew Shadow, and Knuckles seemed nice, but…they always did…

"Why won't you get in the hot-tub?" She snapped back to reality when the red echidna asked Shadow inquisitively, and she turned her head slightly so she could see him in her peripheral vision. She watched him sigh, as if he was a tired old man being asked the same questions every time, and he told him, "Because I'd rather _not, thank you._"

"Alright, alright, _geez…_" Knuckles rolled his eyes and patted him on the back with a grin. "You know, I always knew you had a fear of water. My pal Sonic does, too." He then smirked at him. "Are you _sure _you're not related?"

"_Positive,_" he muttered, narrowing his eyes a little at the obvious teasing. 'I am _not _afraid of _water._' But the echidna patted him on the back and chuckled, signaling that he would stop, and Shadow sighed in relief that at least it had only been him this time.

Then, their attention turned to the feline when she asked curiously, "…Sonic?" The look on her face said that she knew the name but couldn't quite place its owner. Knuckles nodded and repeated, "Yes, Sonic. Blue hedgehog? He's working in –"

"The military now, right?" Her interruption made the two raise an eyebrow, and she smiled a bit at the familiarity of the conversation. "I remember him! He went to my high school, and he _said _he was going to join in after his buddy did!" She held out her hand in greetings. "It's _finally _nice to meet you, Knuckles."

Looking mildly surprised, yet entertained, the echidna took her hand and gave her a firm handshake, and afterwards she asked uncertainly, "You take…some type of martial arts, right?"

"Karate," he corrected her, and he smirked and said, "Yeah, I know a few things, like how to crack a brick of cement in one punch." He made a show with a few fists to the air, and she was surprised to feel the force of it brush air against her face. "My fists are my best weapons."

"Really? You know, in a way," she tilted her head up a bit, as if earning new respect for him, "we have a lot in common."

"Mmm, haven't noticed." He grinned, and the three sat down and ordered drinks from Kussia. As they sat swirling the mugs around, Shadow glanced over and grimaced as he saw the root beer in Shadowpaw's cup. 'Oh, she's going to _regret it…_'

"So," Knuckles asked after taking a swig of beer, "Sly finally got with Periwinkle, huh?"

"Yeah," Shadowpaw laughed and shook her head at a thought, "it was _really _something when he asked her out, though. I swear," she laughed a bit harder, "that poor butler never knew what hit him!"

"I see," Knuckles nodded a little, watching her mirth trickle out in her laughter, and he mumbled, "I'll have to ask him for the whole story." After she was done with her laughing and was taking a gulp of root beer, he decided that this was the perfect time to strike and asked her casually, "So, when'd ya hook up with Shadow?"

Her eyes opened and grew wide, and she sputtered root beer all over the counter (maybe even some on Kussia, heh) and choke a bit while Knuckles roaring laughter replaced hers. Shadow just rolled his eyes and watched as she sat up, still wide-eyed, and put her hand over her nose. "Oh, my _nose! _Agh, it came out of my _nose! It __**burns!**_"

Shadow mumbled in her ear in a smug sort of way, "I _told _you not to pick the root beer." He smirked as she looked up to glare at him as she continued to choke, and after a moment the echidna finally patted her hard on the back and said, "Joking! Cool off, I was just joking!" He grinned at her icy glare and snickered, "Well, I was just livening it up a bit! It certainly lightened up the atmosphere, didn't it?"

"Oh, _I'll _liven up a bit…" She grumbled in dark promise, making Knuckles chuckle and say, "Sure ya will, shorty. Sure." He laughed some more as her face grew red in anger, or embarrassment, and she shouted, "I'm not _short! _Everyone _else _is just so _damn __**tall!**_"

Shadow rolled his eyes and 'reassured' her, "He's only saying that to get you angry; _I'm _shorter than him, and he _still _teases me to this very day about it." Then, when both the echidna and Kussia turned to look at him, he knew he had made a mistake. Especially with those grins on their faces.

"Oh, yes, he _really _knows about that," the squirrel said cheerfully, _too_ cheerfully, and put the cup down to rest his elbow on the counter, staring at the hedgehog mischievously. Knuckles grinned at him as he looked between the two and added, "He'll _never _have any trouble at the movie theatres, as long as he sits in the front. Although," he snickered, "his big-ass spikes might get in the way!" He held up his hand as Kussia grinned at him, and they both high-fived as the target of their torture fumed in the seat beside the feline. She coughed and put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile, but she couldn't help it when a small snicker escaped, and then when he turned to glare at her she snickered some more, and then just burst and held her stomach as she laughed at his expression. He just narrowed his eyes at her, hate emanating at the way she laughed at _him. Him!_ Nobody laughed at _him!_ (Or least, no one was supposed to…)

Then, after she died down a bit and wiped a tear from her eye, Kussia looked at the hedgehog and said in a heartening way, "Well, the good thing is that you're taller than her." He smirked as her smile fell and she growled at him, and then when Knuckles started to guffaw loudly (perhaps too many beers) she glared at him and muttered, "_That's _it…" She stood up, and the echidna asked with a chuckle, "What, are you gonna punch _me_ or something? Come on, it's just a joke!"

"Oh, _I'll _give you a joke." She lifted up her fists, but instead of throwing a punch she lifted her leg and jabbed at his head unexpectedly with a sharp and hard kick. He barely dodged it, but, being drunk, Knuckles lost his balance easily and fell over backwards, hitting the ground with a loud '_thud!_' and a curse. As he sat there rubbing his head, she crossed her arms and said arrogantly, "Oh, would you _look at that;_ he _really __**fell**_ for me _hard._"

As Kussia laughed at the poor echidna confused and cross on the floor, Shadow couldn't help but smirk at his friend's misfortune. 'I have to admit, _that _was funny.' His smirk stayed there as she looked back at him with the same look on her face, before she leaned over and grabbed Knuckles' hand to haul him up. Shadow watched her, but Kussia misinterpreted it (or did he?) and raised an eyebrow. He leaned over to whisper in the hedgehog's ear, "Were you just checking her out?" Shadow scowled and shook his head, but the squirrel didn't look too convinced. He just rolled his eyes and turned to the feline to ask, "Do _you _wanna go in the hot-tub?"

"Err…" She looked a bit hesitant to answer. "Well, I don't really have a…bathing suit…with me." After a look from him, she said firmly, "And I'm _not _going in with my clothes."

"So you'll go in _without _them?" Shadowpaw whirled around just as Sly walked into the room with Periwinkle in tow, and the feline's eye twitched and she warned him, "_Sly…_"

"Oh, stop worrying, little angel, I was only joking." He waved his hand in a dismissing manner to his previous statement. "I would _never _think of such _horrid _things such as that."

Shadowpaw's eye twitched again. "Sly, if you call me a nickname _one more time, I'll –_"

"Yeah, yeah, no kids, heard it all before," he chuckled at her angry expression, and he countered, "Well, if your mother and father are allowed to call you names like 'princess' or 'daddy's little girl', why can't _I?_ I'm around their age."

"_Sly!_"

"Alright, whatever you say, Paw-Paw." He left her with a grin and a wink as he tore off his shirt and jumped into the hot-tub, and Shadowpaw glared lividly at him as she grew red in embarrassment. Periwinkle just giggled, but Shadow looked at the feline and raised an eyebrow. "Paw-Paw?"

"_Shut. Up._" She moved her glare towards him. "_**Don't**__ say a __**word.**_"

He smirked, deciding to remember it for later, and she huffed and turned back to flop into her seat and ask for another drink. "With alcohol this time," she told him, glowering for a moment when the hedgehog snorted. She scoffed and took a sip as she stared at the wall. Why couldn't people just leave her and her business alone? She was going to be a drinker yet.

**An hour later…**

True to their words, while everyone else leapt into the hot-tub to enjoy the warmth and jets of water, Shadowpaw and Shadow still sat at the bar, silence hanging between them. Even Kussia had left to jump in, and he had looked at them for a moment before shaking his head and joining the others. The feline had just glared at him, but now she felt lightheaded and a little woozy. She had had about eight mugs of beer, more than even the hedgehog had in that amount of time, and he just watched as she groaned and put her head on the table. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head before drinking his, concluding that she wasn't that 'experienced' with alcohol. As he set his empty mug down again, though, he blinked and looked at her with her head turned towards him on the counter. That eyebrow still raised, he asked her, "What?"

She blinked sluggishly, as if the alcohol even affected the movement of her eyelids, and she slurred, "Ya know, I'm surprized af'er _all_ of my trouble ta _avoid_ people, dey _still _flock back ta me like alley cats ta a bowl of milk." She then sat up again, if a bit wobbly, and continued, "I mean, I _tell _Sly I don' wanna go _anywhere,_ and yet 'e _still _drags me out whenever 'e and his girlfriend go and _force _me to make friends." She crossed her arms and pouted. "Why can't I just be left alone?"

Shadow looked down at his mug and mumbled, "I know how that feels…" His eye twitched as he imagined Kussia and Knuckles laughing at him in the remnants of beer at the bottom, and he pushed the mug aside and looked back up at her. She had her elbows on the table so that her hands could hold up her head, and her tail dropped down to the floor like a fat, lazy snake, with the white tip twitching ever so slightly to show she was still conscious. Her eyes drooped halfway closed, threatening to knock her out any second now, and it was surprising that she didn't just fall over and pass out. He put his elbow on the table, too, and rested his head on it as he stared at her. After a while, she seemed to sense his eyes on her even while drunk, and she turned her head to stare back at him, amber eyes swirling with alcohol-induced thoughts.

"You know," she started, making him blink, "I don' get you."

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow once more, and he thought, 'If I keep doing that, it'll probably freeze like that.' Wanting to laugh at the thought for some reason, he instead asked her, "Why's that?"

She picked up one of her arms and pointed a finger at him. "You're one of dose guys dat coulda get any girl dey wan' cuz dey're so damn drop-dead gorgeous, and yet dey run around single." She tilted her head a bit to the side, genuine and drunken curiosity mixing together hazily in her bright yet clouded eyes. "Why's dat?"

He blinked and looked at her. '_Any_ girl?' Still sober enough to see blackmail in the making, he smirked and answered, "Well, maybe I don't _want _a relationship right now."

She giggled a little, shocking him a bit. '_Damn,_ how drunk _is_ she?' Then, she nodded in approval. "Good." She then turned and laid her head back down on the table while muttering, "Cuz relationship's a bitch."

He shook his head at her, wondering how weird a girl could get when they were drunk. Shaking his head a bit, he turned to look at the others in the hot-tub, enjoying themselves by talking and splashing each other childishly. It was actually nice to see them all enjoying themselves, since many things had happened to give them reasons not to even smile. He poured himself another drink, remembering the time when none of them had been as joyful as they were now; back when they had turned in that feline for questioning…

(_Flashback_)

Kussia sat in the chair directly across the place where the feline was handcuffed and staring calmly at him. The table was empty except for those two people, but others were listening behind the tinted black glass and Sly was also waiting behind the squirrel, leaning against the wall with an eerily calm demeanor. Silence permeated in the interrogation room, and it was mostly a staring contest between the two as Sly watched them carefully. If Kussia could not get anything out of him (which was rare but did happen), the red fox would take over, and _he __**always**_ got what he wanted; he was the best sweet-talker out of all of them and could literally talk his way out of prison. If he could do _that_, this was no problem, especially with a drunkard, cousin or not. His personal life never interfered with his abilities, and it was a bit scary how he could detach himself from everything that he loved and adored to do what he needed to, like a secret agent or a spy.

Now, as they watched one another intently, Shadow's blood-red eyes examined his demeanor; he sat up as straight as a proud drunk could, showing that he was confident, or arrogant, and didn't flinch under authority. He still held the broken top of the bottle, and he held it not threateningly, but lazily as it hung down like a wet noodle with the arm against his side. His tail even wagged a bit, eager to talk to the squirrel before him. After taking in all of these small details himself, Kussia skipped formalities and immediately the questioning began.

"Where were you on the evening of the twenty-third?"

The cat started to chuckle, making Kussia's eyes squint, and the suspect looked at him with a sneer and said, "Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" It seemed he had calmed down a bit from his alcohol-driven rage and now had a smidgen of common sense to not yell at the man. Then, he leaned back a bit, making them all tense up, and he put his feet on the table and his hands behind his head as if he was going to sleep in a hammock. "Well, if you _really_ must poke your damn nose into things, I was going to my apartment to see my girlfriend."

"You shared an apartment." It wasn't a question; it was a fact he had learned with resentment.

"Yeah, we _did._" He gave the squirrel a look that dared him to say something. "Got a problem with it?"

Not taking the bait, Kussia continued, "Tell me what happened, Dawn."

Scoffing and muttering 'coward' loud enough so he could hear, the feline continued. "Well," he yawned, as if this wasn't worth his time, "I got in there, and she came over and said _'hello'_ with a _kiss._" The way he said it made shivers run up the spines of everyone behind the glass, including the hedgehog. Dawn smirked at the hatred written in plain sight on Kussia's eyes, and he sneered in a way that made Shadow looked like an _angel_. "So, I go in and expect something 'special' for the night, right? You know, to loosen me up a bit and keep me _warm_ for the night." He snarled as if he had tasted something horrible and sickening. "The bitch upright tells me 'no'. _Just _like that. 'No'," he mocked in an exaggerated form of a girl's voice.

"Do you mind if I record this?" Kussia held up a tape recorder, setting it down when he shrugged and flicking the switch. "Alright, continue."

"Record all the fuck you want, 'cause it gets even _better._ So, I ask her _why,_ right? I've known her for more than a year, fourteen fucking months, and she can't even get past the hugs and kisses?" He scoffed again. "Right. So, she tries to look pitiful and says that 'she's not ready for that level yet'. _Bullshit!_" He pounded his fist onto the table, tremors making him shake like a volcano about to erupt. "That fucking bitch just wanted my _money!_ I could tell, because she'd always look at things and wish she could have it, and _I _would be the _gentleman_ and give her what she wanted, but would she ever give _me_ what _I_ wanted? _No!_"

Kussia watched him carefully as he asked, "And what did you want, exactly?"

"What _every_ guy wants; a little 'female company' in bed." He smirked and cast his gaze over to his cousin standing against the wall over there. He nodded at him and said, "I'm pretty sure that Sly over there would agree with me on the fact that nothing's sweeter."

"Hey," Kussia snapped his fingers in his face, "your talk is with _me._ Keep the conversation on the subject, please."

"Right, _sorry_ to waste your _precious time._" Dawn sneered at him again, before clearing his throat and wondering aloud to himself, "Now, where the fuck was I?"

"Something about wanting company in bed."

"Oh, right," Dawn nodded and continued with his story-telling. "So, after that, I kept asking her why, why she was being a selfish little brat and not helping me out, and she just kept saying 'sorry' and backing up as if she was afraid I might find out something." He snorted. "I kept approaching her, and she looked scared as hell, as if she didn't want me to be near her, and I got very angry at her secretive…ness…" He frowned and muttered, "What the hell is the word? Secretiveness? Secretful…secret…" He trailed off, his pondering lowering his rage to something more of a mutter.

"Were you drunk at the time?" Kussia raised an eyebrow inquisitively as he waited for an answer. Dawn furrowed his brows, as if thinking hard about something, before he grunted and replied, "Yeah, so?"

Kussia cleared his throat and proposed, "Do you think there's the possibility that your agitation or suspicions could have been conjured up or induced by your intoxication?"

The feline blinked slowly, before saying, "Say wha?"

Sly explained coolly, "Do you think being drunk made you angry?"

Dawn gave a small 'oh' of realization before scoffing and saying, "_No!_ It was all as clear as _day;_ she looked extremely guilty and shit!" He crossed his arms and muttered to himself, "Guilty as charged, _bitch…_"

"So then what happened?"

After a bit more of angry muttering, Dawn looked up and said, "Well, I kinda…don't know." He scratched the back of his head a bit nervously. "But…I _do_ know I got angry at her…and for good reason!" He looked at his cousin with an arrogance even _Shadow_ could see as just hot-air. "That bitch deserved _anything_ I did to her!"

"Did she deserve to be beaten, _sir_?" Kussia said it as detachedly as possible, but really Sly was better at these types of things; his hatred and anger showed clear as day in his icy eyes, regarding the feline before him like a hawk would road-kill. Should he take a bite from it, to get revenge for Shadowpaw, or should he leave it to rot for the maggots?

"Hell, _yeah!_" He grinned like a little boy, looking as immature and irresponsible as any child would, although his eyes showed nasty expertise and a force to be reckoned with. A deadly combination. Narrowed eyes were on him from either side of the glass, except for Sly who stood as calm and collected as he had before the questioning. It seemed nothing could touch him, not even emotions, whenever a job had to be done.

Kussia then closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, as if trying to get the strength to ask this question without strangling the suspect (although now he was completely pegged as the criminal). He was silent for a while, to which Dawn took the time to inspect the broken bottle in his hands and toss it between them in a game. After he dropped it with a '_clink!_', and it surprisingly didn't break, the squirrel cleared his throat and asked slowly, eyes still closed, "What happened…_after_ that, Dawn?"

It was then that the cat's face took its true form; his grin turned into a malicious smirk, and his eyes glinted with wicked cruelty as he stared down the squirrel. His eyes then drifted over to his cousin, and then to the glass screen where he probably knew people were watching him, and finally back to his interrogator. The smirk deepened into a nearly black, tainted abyss of leers. "I fucked her, _officer._ And I fucked her _good._"


End file.
